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Handsome and the Humbles looking good with new album

SAUL YOUNG/go knoxville Handsome and the Humbles will perform a CD release show for the new album "Mercy Now," Saturday at Scruffy City Hall. The band is, from left, Josh Smith, Zack Miles, Jason Chambers, and Tyler Huff.(Photo: Saul Young)

There's a camaraderie when the band Handsome and the Humbles is together.

Singer Josh Smith, guitarist Jason Chambers, bassist Tyler Huff and banjoist Zack Miles laugh easily while gathered at Huff's house for practice and band photos.

Smith, Chambers and Huff all grew up in Clinton and have been friends since they were kids. They also crossed paths in bands, but it wasn't until Handsome and the Humbles that they all worked together in a band at the same time.

'I'd been in bar cover bands and took a break,' says Huff.

When he decided to start playing again, he asked his buddy Chambers, whose band Hotshot Freight Train hadn't been playing a lot, if he'd like join him in an Americana cover band, focusing on songs by Ryan Adams and similar artists.

'We had a drummer in mind, but we were looking for a singer,' says Huff. 'Then Josh sent me some demos and asked if I'd be interested in playing on them.'

Instead, Huff asked Smith if he'd be interested in becoming vocalist for the new group.

'His songs ended up being too good to become a cover band,' says Huff.

'I didn't come along until about a year ago,' says Miles. 'Josh and I met at a Preservation Pub singer-songwriter night. Until then I had just been playing solo.'

Miles continues to perform solo shows and recently released his solo album, 'Sights We Rarely See.'

It's Smith's songs that are the focus of Handsome and the Humbles, however.

'I've been writing consistently since 2012, but I've written since I was in high school,' says Smith.

Smith says the first music that made an impression on him came from long drives between New York and East Tennessee when his parents divorced.

'The Eagles' 'Desperado' album and Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic,' ' says Smith. 'Those were the first albums that touched me. We'd listen to those and 'Dark Side of the Moon.' '

If listeners detect a spiritual bent to Smith's songs, there is good reason. He was actually headed for a future as a minister.

'Looking back, I wanted to help people and that was the way I was trying to do that,' he says.

After college, Smith started a church with some friends and acted as a young adult minister. His best friend, who was also involved in the church, was gay and struggling with how to deal with it in a conservative Christian environment. When Smith and his friend began inviting friends and parishioners to read an opinion-piece called 'Letter to Louise,' which supported gay members of Christian church, Smith and his friend were told by the head minister to say that they disagreed with the opinion. They refused.

'That started the whole process of me thinking things didn't make sense,' says Smith. 'The thing that led me to the church was loving my brother and treating people better.'

Smith and his friend ended up leaving that church and Smith pursued a career in physical therapy, usually working with elderly patients.

'A lot of what I write comes from personal experience,' he says. 'The song 'Have Mercy' is me trying to figure out how to be a better person. And a lot of songs come from conversations with family and friends. Some have come from conversations with patients.'

Smith says the band doesn't always know what his songs are about.

'Initially, they'll just be looking at the melody or structure and Tyler will usually be the first to say, 'Hey, are you talking about this?' If I bring a song to the group it's because I want it out there, but if they don't like it that's OK, too. I trust their judgment.'

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Handsome and the Humbles

With: Hotshot Freight Train

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, April 16

Where: Scruffy City Hall, 28 Market Square

Admission: $5

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